. >> schieffer: what about the secret service director, mark sullivan? do you still have confidence in him? >> i do at this point. i think he's reacted-- he reacted very quickly and very aggressively when he first heard of the episode in cartagena. and i think he's conducting a comprehensive investigation, as evidenced by the fact his people are talking to everybody down there. but in fairness to him and the secret service, our committee is going to look back at past conduct and records of misconduct and to ask whether anybody at the secret service in the administration should have been on notice that something like this might have been happening happening and to act to stop it? is there a code of conduct that the secret service agents know they've got to follow, not just when they're on duty but when they're on assignment because the truth is they should feel they're always on duty because if they're compromised, then the safety of the president of the united states is compromised. >> schieffer: let me ask you one quick question on this scandal and the

mark sullivan has spent a lot of time on capitol hill. as a result of that, you don't hear many calls for mark sullivan to resign, because he's handled it pretty well with the hill. the defense department made a mistake. one, they waited way too long to start these briefings. today was the first one. this incident happened almost two weeks ago. two, they were unprepared. i find it surprising because, you know, i sit on the cia's external advisory board. when leon panetta was the director of cia, he rebuilt the cia's relationship with capitol hill because i've heard him speak many times about the need for transparency. he's out of the country right now when they went up to capitol hill. i suspect when he gets back, he will have to personally address the deficiency and deal with it. >> i know senator grassley said he was making a rhetorical point but it also seemed to be more than that. prostitutes have been used i'm sure throughout human history as spies and agents. now, if this is -- it could have been that case or not, but that's not eve

noted that congressman cane is not the only person showing support new for secret service director mark sullivan in his handling of the investigating. the republican presidential candidate mitt romney also said on wednesday that he, quote, remains confident in sullivan's abilities. laura? >> and thank you. >>> a routine bond hearing for george zimmerman took a surprising turn. the neighborhood watch captain spoke out the first time and apologizing for killing martin. and karen has the latest details. >> reporter: it's unusual for a murder suspect to testify during a bond hearing, but he seized the opportunity to say that he was sorry and the judge set bond for $150,000 with some special conditions for release. >> now that the bond is set, the 28-year-old zimmerman could be free the next few days. he was denied a request to meet with the parents before the hearing and granted permission to address them in court. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was younger than i am, and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> reporter: zimmerma

>>guest: i do have confidence in mark sullivan. he reacted to the lapse and it was the fault of the secret service agent on the ground and they have corrected that problem and in the case of the cartagena situation, director sullivan has acted with a sense of urgency and determination. so, that is what i would say today. and i hope when we look back at what happened before cartagena we will still be able to have the same confidence in mark sullivan. >>chris: your committee oversees the general services administration as part of your governmental affairs function. how do you explain this wild overspending? $823,000 for a conference, a conference, a conference in las vegas? the regional commissioner taking a $17-day trip to the pack, how -- to the pacific. >>guest: there is no explanation. no excuse. when i heard about it, i said what were they thinking? this is taxpayer money. they were living in some strange bubble. in 2010 the deputy to mr. neely was charged and then convicted of embezzlement, he was embezzling money from the feder

>> i do have confidence in mark sullivan. i mean that was an unfortunate lapse. i think he reacted to it. it was the fault of the secret service agents on the ground. i think they have correctd that problem. in the case of the colombia situation, i think director sullivan has acted with a sense of urgency and determination so that is what i would say today. and i hope when we look back at what happened before we will still be able to have the same confidence in mark sullivan. >> chris: let me switch subjects on you. your committee also oversees the general services administration. how do you explain this wild overspending? we can look at some of the videos here that have been all over tv. $823,000 for a conference. a conference in las vegas. the regional commissioner taking a 17 day trip through the pacific. how do you explain it and what is your committee going to do about it? >> there is no explanation for it. there is no excuse for it. when i heard about it i said what were these people thinking? this is taxpayer money. they were living in some strange bubble.

the white house of course says they support mark sullivan at this point. it seems like a lot of people are holding their fire as we wait for the results of this investigation which could really prove pivotal to the director of the secret service, jessica. >> i want to add this, while you were reporting, if you check your black burberrblackberry, ys too, multiple e-mails from multiple white house officials telling us the president this afternoon in the oval office received a briefing from the director of secret service on the ongoing investigation. so multiple white house officials telling us that update did already in fact happen in the oval office with the president. and i wanted to ask you as well, this incident also involved members of the military. on that part of the story, there's been a lot less information coming out of the investigation, until now. what do we know on the latest on the military aspect of this investigation? >> reporter: there's been less information but we do know today that has widened just a little bit. we were reporting before t

today, the white house and key lawmakers defended the initial response by secret service director, mark sullivan. >> the president has confidence in the director of the secret service. director sullivan acted quickly in response to this incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak. >> i've known mark sullivan, i have a great regard for him. and from what we know so far, he acted quickly, he acted promptly, and he did the right thing. >> reporter: but official washington is also demanding quick answers from sullivan, who has been briefing members of congress about the allegations that secret service and military personnel brought prosecutionty toots back to their hotel in colombia last week. >> there were 20 to 21 women who were signed in to the hotel. >> reporter: nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff confirms the women were working at this cartagena bar, where witnesses told a telemundo reporter, the men were drinking and partying. >> it's so hard for me to believe that this was the first time an incident like this occurred, because too many people were involved.

i, mark sullivan, director of the secret service is an enormously able individual.iately here and aggressively here. at the end of the day, when all of this is known and it has been handled the people most disgusted and angry and upset about this are the members, the men and women of the secret service. this is not up to the standards that they, themselves, hold out for their own agency and their own mission. a terrible blot on their record. i suspect the vast majority of the sec set service personnel feel that way. >> chris: you never heard of lead agents -- >> particularly on a trip. they're human beings. after a trip is over, you know, have a beer or something. but not on duty. not -- and when you are on a foreign trip, you are on duty all the time. there is no off-hours. you may have a time you're not on active watch, but you are on duty 24 hours a day when you're on a foreign trip. >> chris: now let me ask about the politics of this. do you think it's a legitimate weapon, an effective weapon to go after the president on this? when i say "this" the secret servic

>> i don't hold mark sullivan responsible for this at all.n fact, i think he has acted very effectively. as soon as he learned about this midday thursday, almost immediately he ordered these agents removed from the country and brought back to the united states. he began an immediate investigation. the investigation is very intense. i can also telling you from speaking to director sullivan, leave it at this. he is incredibly angry, furious. he's going to do all he possibly can to make sure this never happens again. as far as the agents in a supervisory position, if they did what they're accused of doing, what's alleged to have been done, it's disgraceful, indefensible. and far from the fact whether they were prostitutes, bringing women back would have been bad under these conditions. secondly, even the all night drinking. believe me, i'm not into gauging anyone's morality. if you're part of an assault team and you're out drinking the night before the president gets there. i want a sniper to be operating at 110% efficiency, not recovering from

people seem to like mark sullivan. i'm getting the sense he's respected a lot. he has a lot of credit in the bank starting this, a lot of capital there. >> he's a career guy, he's regarded as a straight shooter, and he was very smart in contacting the key congressmen right away, waking them up, literally, at 5:00 a.m. in the morning and calling them back again. i think he's been forthright. i think everyone hopes this investigation will be quick and aggressive. it has to be tough and leave no stone unturned. follow the evidence wherever it leaves. >> as bobby kennedy once said, you hang a lantern on your problem. it's very smart to let the people know. thank you, senator richard blumenthal from joining us from the senate judiciary committee and david knack mara of "the washington post." >>> let me finish with this presidential election, a clear choice, you see what the romney's saying about the wealthy deserving to be congratulated and obama talking about having to make it through college with students loans. you're watching "hardball." >>> let me finish tonight

quickly in response to this incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak. >> i've known mark sullivan, very a great regard for him. from what we know so far, he acted quickly, promptly and did the right thing. >> reporter: but official washington is demanding quick answers from sullivan, who has been briefing members of congress about the incident secret service agents brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms last week. >> there were 20 to 21 women signed in to the hotel. >> reporter: michael isikoff confirms the women were working at this cartagena bar, where witnesses said the men were drinking and partying. >> it's so hard for me to believe that this was the first time an incident like this occurred, because too many people were involved. for 11 or 12 secret service personnel to be involved raises a huge red flag. >> it's not the first time a flag has been raised. in 2009 the secret service came under scrutiny when a reality tv couple entered a state dinner without an invitation. >> this is about the reputation an organization that goes back to 1865, and a proud tradition of q

it sounds like at least for now the white house is standing by director mark sullivan. is that fair? >> reporter: yes. it's absolutely more than fair. jay carney says that the president has confidence in mark sullivan that he acted swiftly and appropriately in starting an investigation and keeping the president informed of what's going on, that the white house would like the secret service to handle the investigation and that it is their responsibility to do it sort of separately and on their own and that the white house respects the secret service for what it does every day. basically, it's their job and let them do it. and the way -- what i hear and sense, john, is that the white house really doesn't want to have to get involved in this one, more than they already are. and that they don't sense political fallout from this, at least not yet. john? >> at least not yet. our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. as of now, no indications of any major lawmakers suggesting that he is imperiled. >>> also, one of president obama's biggest re-election worries, that

now, so far at least, republicans have stood by mark sullivan, the director. said we're going to proceed in a bipartisan way here. mr. romney hasn't attempted to somehow tie this directly to the president. but the longer it goes and the messier it gets, the worse it is. i should add that the economic numbers were a little uncertain this week, so maybe it's better from the president's point of view. >> rick: a welcome distraction. >> discussing prostitutes and call girls than discussing when our friends are going to get jobs. >> rick: the number of people who are applying or unemployment benefits. let me ask you about about the secret service. i'm sure you've been around these guys over the years. by all accounts, most of them, the vast majority of them are very impresssive bunch. is that agency now tainted forever, do you think, or do they recover from this? >> well, the jury is still out. that's a really good question. they'll recover from it if it's not a cultural problem. if they stand up to it, if we don't start hearing about similar incidents in other cit

the embassy was notified and a call went to secret service director mark sullivan. the source says director sullivan was outraged and pulled the team out of colombia in "two seconds." sullivan then told his senior staff "we're going to get to the bottom of this and hold everyone accountable." by saturday morning the 11 were in washington where they were interviewed by the secret service office of professional responsibility. now, none of those called home from colombia was involved in protecting the president and officials insist the actions of the 11 did not compromise security. they point out, in fact, there were hundreds of security personnel who were there who did the right thing. but secret service veterans concede the scandal undermines public confidence and raises questions about the culture, scott, inside the agency. >> pelley: bob, thank you. the motto of the secret service is "worthy of trust and confidence." mark sullivan, the director and a 29-year veteran, sent an e-mail today to his 6,800 employees. he calls the incident "embarrassing" and says that th

agencia de las más respetadas del país ahora enfrentan un escandalo que podría costar el puesto a mark sullivanoches, les cuento que el escandalo de los agentes de servicio secreto estadounidenses involucrados con el pago a servicios a prostitutas, ahora estallo en el salvador. formaban parte del equipo de barak obama que preparaban su llegada ase país >>este club de san salvador seria el lugar donde una docena de agentes pagaron por servicios sexuales de prostitutas, los estadounidenses formaban parte del grupo de avanzada del barak obama, prepaban su visita en marz del año pasado. >>asegura que presencio cuando estos pagaron en efectivo por los servicios de mujeres. >>club bar y restaurante lips ofrece el servicio de bailarinas desnudas desde l ls seis de la tarde. >>nuestras cámaras observaron la llegada de varias mujeres cuando llegaban a trabajar. >>le habrían dicho que eso de ir a centros nocturnos lo hacían todo el tiempo, especialmente en países del tercer mundo. >>segun la información estarian entre los clientes de este lugar estan miembros de embajadas >>leon paneta de visita en chile

that's -- the question of whether it's an isolated incident is putting new pressure on director mark sullivan head of the agency since 2006, as well as his boss, homeland security secretary janet napolitano. explain first of all, secret service hasn't always reported to homeland security, this was a change only in the last ten years? >> when the department was created--darrell issa who is head of this committee, or the investigating committee was saying that he wasn't really questioning the leadership here, you haven't heard a lot of that initially as you did with the salahi thing. the difference between the salei hi thing is this. curiously there, there were some secret service errors and there were some white house errors who actually let people who were not supposed to be near the president -- >> not only did they get in -- >> they were not on the cleared list and yet they got access to the president and the vice president. the president wasn't even in town, but it's hugely embarrassing. >> let's talk about who these folks are, because this is not the president's detail. that's important l

we just received a letter that darrell issa wrote to mark sullivan, the chief of the secret service. this he's requested about ten points of information. outlining what happened that night, who did what and what mr. sullivan knows. one thing that's really important in here, point number eight, has the u.s. secret service been able to determine that all women involved in this incident were at least 18 years of age? obviously if they were not, that would make this illegal for any u.s. citizen to have participated in. do you have any sense of whether any of these women were under 18? >> i know they were looking into that. i believe by now they have determined that they were over 18. >> all right. so that obviously would make -- i guess in some case marginally better for some of these individuals. what do you think about director sullivan himself? many people have come to his defense and said he is an honorable man doing a great job running the secret service. others are saying if this kind of a thing can happen there, it must happen elsewhere and he needs to go as part of this. what do

director sullivan and the agency -- >> i do have confidence in mark sullivan. >> do you agree director sullivan should keep his job? >> i certainly do right now. based on everything i've seen so far, i have full confidence in him, yes. >> one thing you need to know about mark sullivan, this guy is very, very savvy internally when it comes to politics. the guy briefs anybody who has been asked. he has so much support right now across both sides of the aisle. still the episode coupled with the gsa scandal is leaving a cloud over washington and it's a distraction for the white house which obama campaign senior adviser axelrod talked about yesterday on "meet the press." >> on the gsa issue he was, i think it's fair to say, and mrek particular. he acted quickly and the administration acted quickly and changed the management. the secret service does heroic work. this is really disturbing and we have to get to the bottom of it. >> and karl rove warned republicans preparing to politicize the secret service issue beware of going overboard. >> sure it creates a problem to president obama. it add

sheila jackson lee just met with the agency's director, mark sullivan, and she's outfront tonight.ee you, ma'am. >> thank you. >> let me just ask you this question. i know you had a chance to meet with mark sullivan and talk with him about these latest allegations, about what happened a year ago in el salvador, and he said something to you that may contradict what we just heard? >> if these allegations are true, the behavior is absolutely unacceptable. but director sullivan indicated that he is still looking for the facts. right now they have begun to question supervisors that were on the ground, personnel attached to the embassy that was there. they have not completed an investigation, but they really need more facts and they really are seeking for anyone who would come forward, for the source to come forward, maybe voluntarily. but we obviously made the point that no stone should be left unturned with respect to any allegations that may be coming forward. now, i added something, and i really believe it is important for some statement to come forward. i believe from the agency in

so who is mark sullivan. he was in charge of this agency in the last emergency.for that, and he has not spoken publicly since this event. >> people seem to like him. they seem to like mark sullivan. i get a sense of people at your level that he is respected a lot. that he has a lot of credit starting this, a lot of capital there. >> he is a career guy, regarded as a straight shooter, and he was very smart contacting the key congressman right away, waking him up at 5:00 in the morning, and calling him back again. i think he has been forth right, and every hopes this investigation will be quick and aggressive. it has to be tough. follow the evidence whereever it leads. >> land a lantern on your problem, it's smart to let the people know. thank you for joining us. when we return, let me finish with where i started tonight with this presidential election, a clear choice now. you see from what romney is saying the wealthy in this country should be congratulated, and obama talking about making it through college with student loans. ...the united states would be on that

second deliberation i have great respect for mark sullivan as the director of the secret service. he is a patriotic american committed to the protection of our president and those in the executive branch, and it's hard -- his reputation is such that it's hard to connect him with any culture of this kind. nonetheless, an investigation a has to take place. first of all, whatever agency of government this might be taking place in is disgusting. the fact that it would cast some doubt on, shall we say the full attention that people are supposed to be paying to the protection of our president, makes it even more worrisome. i don't have anything more to say on that subject. >> this side. >> given that we're facing another trillion dollar deficit this year and that the parties both agree on majority of the bush tax cuts being extended, how much of this battle over student loan, the $6 billion pay forward, is just simply political postures, basically trying to run up some ink? >> i think this is as central to our debate as anything. this is about the education of our children. the competit